Iron Man: Dead to the World
by onewritereightnames
Summary: When Tony Stark, aka "Iron Man", decides to take a vacation he ends up in a small New Hampshire town where a beautiful woman and many dangerous adventures await. This journey will end in the mourning of a hero as many ask, "How did it come to this?" Rated T for some violence, mild suggestive themes. This story is now finished BUT the story will continue in a new story .
1. Issue 1

**A/N: **Alright so here it is. An Iron Man Fanfic that I'm going to write. I think Iron Man is probably my favorite super hero and I've read plenty of his stories. So this is gonna be a mix of romance and adventure I think. No idea how long it's gonna go or anything but enjoy.

**Chapter 1: Hampton **

"Early details point to a metahuman or mutant as the likely perpetrator of the heist. No details are known about the thief except that they are most likely female due to a small laugh that can be heard as the thief walked into the vault and grabbed gold bars. Though all the alarm systems and cameras were on and working no alarms were set off and the cameras saw no person leaving. The only evidence that somebody was there is the video footage of gold bars being taken from their shelves been an invisible hand and the laugh that can be heard. Now some experts thi-…"

"So a girl with either super powers or a genius suit of armor or both made off with a few gold bars from my vault. I'm a billionaire and these reporters are making it sound like the heist of the century. I wish shutting them off was as easy as turning that TV off," said Tony Stark to himself.

He got off the couch and walked over to the fridge that was next to the small bar and as he passed the rows of liquors he felt a yearning deep in the pit off his stomach. However Tony had managed, with the help of his friends, to stay sober for years and not give in to the crippling disease of alcoholism. He grabbed a cold soda from the fridge and sat down at one of the many desks in his house that had computers built into them.

"Jarvis predict how the stocks and fortunes of the company will look for the next month," said Tony as he sipped the cola.

"Stocks will likely see a very small change and Stark International is set with contracts and new designs that will keep us number one for much longer than a month," responded the computerized voice.

"Sounds like a good time to take a vacation then," thought Stark.

"Jarvis have Pepper find someone who could pose as my double for pictures in a plane going towards the Alaskan islands and send out a message to the press saying I'm going out into the Alaskan islands for a vacation. Before you do that call the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier."

"Placing the call now,"

Tony smiled as the face of his long time ally and friend Nick Fury appeared in projection form above his desk. Wars and crime had been quite rare recently and the biggest worries these days were where the U.N would send food to next and how this year's election would turn out.

"What do you need Tony? I know you haven't called just to say hello or ask how I'm doing," said Fury.

"Well I'll cut straight to the chase then; I'm going on vacation for about a month. The world isn't going to collapse without me as an Avenger; even I'm not arrogant enough to believe that. I just thought I'd tell you so you could maybe try out another hero in my spot for a bit, I here that kid Parker has quite a good streak going," said Tony.

"Hm, well I suppose we could try out another member for a while and see how it goes. Alright Stark, as long as the world doesn't start ending prematurely you can stay on break for as long as you want. Oh and before you hang up, a suggestion. Try Hampton, New Hampshire. It's a small beach town that's empty about this time of year, could be perfect," said Fury.

"That might just work. Thanks Fury, Stark out."

Four days later Tony Stark was walking towards the house he was renting in Hampton, New Hampshire. It was October fifth and the temperature was cool, if a little windy, and Tony liked it that way just fine. The only people who were by the beach were dog walkers and ocean gazers which made it feel quite empty considering the large beach and the equally sparsely populated boardwalk. The town was small and it was obvious that it made all of its money during the hot summer months. However this sense of emptiness gave it an air of rest and quiet for Tony Stark as he walked towards the two floored wooden house.

The house and lawn were well kept due to the prime rate and constant use it got during the summer, there was an average looking car in the driveway that Tony had used to get here just minutes before he had walked around a little bit. The car, the rented house, and the name "John Murray" were all parts of his efforts to keep himself unnoticed and at peace in Hampton.

The efforts had indeed paid off and Tony Stark spent the first ten days off his stay in the town walking around and finding the restaurants and shops that he soon became a regular face at. It was on October fifteenth that Tony was walking along the boardwalk thinking about where to eat when snow began to drift down slowly over him. He had lived in New York City for almost his entire life so he was used to cold weather and snow, though he had to admit it was surprising to it falling so early in the year.

"You know if you keep standing there staring at the snow you're to catch the flu and get yourself a bad couple weeks staying in bed," said a pleasant female voice from behind him.

Tony turned around and found something else to stare at in the beautiful woman before him, she had to be about 5' 8", had blond hair, green eyes, a nice figure, a soft smile, and skin that still held some tan leftover from the summer.

"Never mind, looks like you're going to catch your flu looking at me," she said and laughed.

"It would be worth it," he said also laughing now.

"C'mon Mr. Flu Catcher, let's get somewhere warm. How about we go inside The Underground, its warm, friendly, and best of all they actually have decent beer," she said, beginning to walk towards the pub she had mentioned.

"Pubs aren't exactly my favorite place to go, but sure," he said following her.

"This place isn't a stinky dive for the bums around here, it's actually comfortable and serves good beer and palatable food," she said.

"Oh no, it's not the quality of the pub. It's just that most sobered up alcoholics don't tend to frequent pubs," he said as he held the door open for her.

"Oh! I'm sorry, would you like to go somewhere else, I mean it's no problem really," she said quickly.

"No no, it's perfectly alright. Though you could make it up to me by telling me your name."

"Well Tony Stark, my name is Marie and it's a pleasure to meet you."


	2. Issue 2

A/N: Confession time ladies and gentlemen. I feel like a real dick for not posting in 12 days. Seriously, I know I didn't sign up for a contract or anything but I feel like a dick to you guys who've enjoyed the first chapter and are only just now getting the second one. I know that my other two stories have gotten the same kind of negligence, guess I'm a pretty shitty parent to my stories huh? Anyways here we are with Chap 2. Enjoy y'all.

Chapter 2: Stark Discovered

Upon hearing Marie greet him with his real name Tony made a three-sixty turn and walked out the door. Marie's smile dropped and she quickly followed him out the door and struggled to keep pace with his fast strides down the sidewalk.

"What's all that about? Why are you storming off, what did I do?" said Marie confused.

Tony spun around on her with a speed that seemed almost inhuman and, while obviously trying to avoid shouting at her in anger, said, "Because your paparazzi reporter tramp just had to find a way here and reveal that I was committing the ultimate evil of just trying to have a normal peaceful vacation in my damn life. I hate people like you. I don't even believe in God but I hope you go to hell."

Stark automatically flinched as he saw an expression of pure anger flash on her face and then he was even more taken aback by the sadness that replaced the anger. She seemed almost like a kicked dog as she lowered her head, causing her long curly hair to hide her face, and said quietly, "I grew up four blocks over and I've stayed here all of my 24 years and only left on vacations. I only recognized you because I think you're the best Avenger and I admire you for being open with your identity. I haven't worked on a newspaper since Sophomore year of high school. It was nice meeting you and finding out you really are the self-centered asshole your competitors point you out to be."

A/N: For all intents and purposes of this story let us assume Marie and Stark to be ages 24 and 28 respectively.

"Marie, I just assumed nobody in a small town like this would…"

"Are you stupid too? Of course the locals noticed, you're famous everywhere but nobody says anything because they actually respect a man's right to privacy here. Does 'Live Free or Die' ring a bell? Just go away you bastard," said Marie, head still down.

"I'm sorry, I guess I just assumed too many things and well you know what they say about assuming…" said Tony apologetically.

He heard a small laugh from behind the soft curtain of golden hair, which for some reason sounded slightly familiar, and Stark smiled knowing he had gotten a laugh out of her.

"God, you made me laugh at that overused of an expression how dumb must I be. And I guess apology accepted," said Marie as she began to look at Stark again.

"It's never appropriate to make a pretty girl sad, let me make it up to you. I'll pay for what you want at the pub," said Tony.

"You are just a shallow, rich, I-Sleep-With-Whoever-I-Want type!" said Marie as the flash of anger came back to her face.

"Huh? Wait I didn't mean it like buy you drinks just to get you drunk or anything! Now you're the one assuming I'm just trying to sleep with you," said Stark.

"Haha I guess I am assuming that. Well how about this, you make it up to me buy buying me drinks and taking me on a date tomorrow," said Marie smiling.

It was four minutes past midnight when Tony and Marie left the pub together. The streetlights and full moon illuminated the still-falling snow and it looked like pieces of the moon itself were falling down from the cloud-less sky to land on Hampton. Tony had kept his promise and Marie had had consumed about three too many drinks in the fun they had had watching the Red Sox game with the other locals. She held onto Stark's left arm with both of hers as they walked and leaned her head against his shoulders.

"Where's your house Marie?" asked Tony as they drifted along from street to street in the quiet night.

"Marie?" but she was already napping against him as they walked and so Stark decided to go back towards the house he had rented. When they arrived he opened the door quietly and gently sat her down on the bed. She muttered softly as he took her boots and coat off and laid the covers over her. Her breathing quieted and grew regular as he walked over and shut the lights off and closed the door behind him.

Stark went into the hallway and found two pillows and a nice comforter in the closet that he could use. He then went into the spare bedroom and got himself comfortable in the bed before falling asleep quickly.

Marie woke up slowly from her long night's sleep and when she was fully awake she realized that she could hear the shower running.

"But that's impossible, I live alone…" she thought.

Soon though the events of last night came back to her and she realized she didn't remember getting home, which worried her quiet a bit. She turned on the light next to the bed and pushed the sheets and comforter to the end of the bed she had never seen before. However she noticed that her socks, jeans, underclothes, and T-shirt were all still there and undisturbed. She looked left and instead of dirty guy clothes discarded on the floor she saw her coat hanging on the closet door and her shoes underneath it. In the corner was a mostly full suitcase and a smaller briefcase the seemed to be oddly well locked.

"This must be his house, pretty comfy bed. Must've been pretty cheap at this time of the year. But what's confusing is that I was drunk and all he did was put me under the covers and let me sleep it off. That's totally in confliction to the playboy lifestyle he leads though. I guess he really isn't too bad after all," she thought.

While she was deep in thought she didn't realize that the shower had stopped running and so the light knocking at the door surprised her.

"Mind if I come in? I'm not naked or anything, promise," said Stark from outside the door.

"Yeah feel free, I'm awake," said Marie as she sat up more on the bed.

"Sleep well?" asked Tony as he walked in and began to rummage around in the suitcase.

"Really well actually."

"You sound surprised," remarked Tony.

"Well it's just I thought… what happened when we left the Underground last night?"

"We began walking down the street and when I started to ask directions to your house I realized you were napping against my shoulder as we walked so I let you sleep and put you in the master bedroom. I slept over on the spare bed," he said, black sweatshirt in hand.

"That's what I thought…" she said.

"So why do you sound like your still confused?"

"Ya know what, it's nothing actually. I want to give you my many thanks for keeping me safe and letting me stay here for the night. So what are we gonna do know?" Marie said.

"I figured we could just make a day out of this date. First though I'm guessing you might wanna walk over to your house and get changed?"

"Yeah sure, that sounds pretty great," she said smiling.

After she put on her coat and got ready the opened the front door and went outside. The world was covered in a few inches of snow and it gave an appearance of cleanliness and purity outside. It looked like a clean start and that's exactly what Marie desired most.


	3. Issue 3

A/N: Here we go, another chapter of this story which is quickly becoming my favorite to write. I have two or three more chapters (full of action and badassedry) planned for it and then I'm going to continue the plot in a new story that I am going to write an you'll get all the details on that by the time the last chapter of this fic is up. Anyways nothing much to say her except, Enjoy. Also follow mah twitter for updates, RandyStark4. Enjoy guys and gals.

Chapter 3: He Came in Through the Bathroom Window

Several months ago Tony Stark met a beautiful girl named Marie and took her out on a date in her hometown of Hampton, New Hampshire. That would be the first od many dates and soon it was apparent that the two of them had a natural tendency to get along well and so the relationship grew in time and seriousness. In the past months they had shared many things including stories, trips around New England, and more than a few times a bed. Now they were sharing an apartment in Boston near the Boston Commons.

This particular January day it was cold and crisp out in Boston. There had been plenty of snowfall so far that year but it hadn't snowed in fifteen days so there wasn't any snow around except in several corners in a big pile. Tony and Marie were out on a walk through the Commons like they often did and were deep in conversation as usual.

"So why do you always wear that hoodie?" asked Marie.

"Well its got that duck down on the inside and its really warm and comfortable. Also its got memories attached to it. I wore it the night of my first anniversary."

"Wait I thought you were never married?" asked Marie, turning to face him.

"My first anniversary of being sober silly," answered Stark.

"Oh. I feel stupid now."

"Don't, you're a clever gal."

"Clever gal? What are you my grandfather?" said Marie with a laugh.

"Ah shaddup."

"Oh you're from the Bronx now huh?"

"Well the Avengers Tower is in New York babe," said Tony as they walked towards the ice rink placed in the middle of the park.

After about an hour of trying to skate around, a dozen falls on Marie's part, and many shared laughs the two of them decided to go to a café together. The two of them sat by a window seat and ordered their drinks.

"Hot cocoa? I didn't realize you were that much younger than me," said Stark with a grin.

Marie turned away from the window for a second and stuck her tongue out at Stark as they watched all the people passing outside.

"It always amazed me how resilient people can be, I mean look at that girl right there in the blue medical scrubs. Coming of what's probably a twelve hour shift and there she is braving the cold in just those flimsy things to get home, sleep for a few hours, and do it again. That kind of dedication and effort to help save peoples lives. I think they're better than superheroes actually. They get no fame, no recognition, all the blame when a patient dies, they get sued constantly, and that makes me feel like I'm just some ass in a suit trying to live up to the real heroes," Tony said.

"Woah. I thought you were supposed to be really egotistical and shallow. What happened to that Tony Stark?" asked Marie.

"He died when I realized being the "Invincible Iron Man" doesn't mean I can't be killed. Every time someone dies because of me I die too. That's another few of my nights spent replaying their death over and over again trying to figure out how I could've saved them. The worst ones are where I figure out exactly how I could've saved them and realize that instead I was getting in a extra shot at some Villain or another," said Tony.

"I… I never knew that your conscious was weighed down so heavily by those kind of things Tony. How do you deal with it all?" asked Marie quietly.

"For many years it was always me retreating into my safety zone, where nothing touched me, where Tomorrow wasn't sitting there like some ageless beast who was patient and unstoppable and coming straight for me. I would wake up and find myself next to at least two empty bottle of hard liquor. Sometimes three or even five. I was a wreck in freefall who believed he could remain at the top of Olympus by downing another bottle while in actually I just fell deeper into Hell's maw. After I hit the bottom I slowly worked my way back up and then it was a different passion that propelled me. One that actually had me running to meet the mythic beast of Tomorrow and embracing it. I turned to inventing, upgrading, modifying, expanding, overhauling, and turning myself into the kind of man I was proud to see reflected in the mirror," said Stark as dusk began to fall on the world outside.

"Wow. I don't think I've ever heard such brutal honesty from any man except for when my father told me how my mother died," said Marie, her cocoa forgotten.

"How did she die?"

"I don't want to…" trailed off Marie.

"It's alright, I understand. I've met people at the AA meetings before who don't want or know how to share their tragic stories yet. It's fine. Well let's head on back home, it's getting dark out and I don't think I can protect you if we were to get jumped or anything," said Tony as he stood up to leave.

Laughing the two of them left the café, hand in hand. Soon they were back home in their apartment and relaxing. Tony was busy replacing the battery in their phones with a mini Repulsor-Tech battery that would give them an infinite battery life while Marie sat nearby reading a book.

"Hey Tony, serious question, what's better a son or a daughter?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm not a pare… wait, wait what?"

Just then a huge crash sounded as their door, and a good part of the wall around it, crashed inwards with a cloud of dust. Standing where there used to be a doorway was a green monster that Red Sox fans did not consider a landmark of their city.

"Hulk here to smash. Hulk here to smash evil. Evil's name is Marie. HULK SMASH MARIE!"


	4. Issue 4

A/N: Here we go, 'nother chapter in the saga. Unfortunately school started yesterday so there will be times when junior year is gonna make me super busy. I will however try to stay committed to writing here. Anyways I want to establish one thing that wasn't in the movies. In a storyline called _Extremis_ (available on Netflix streaming) Tony Stark takes an experimental new injection that holds the "Extremis" virus that makes him basically one with his armor as well as giving him increased intelligence, endurance, and fast healing. In fact the under layer of his armor itself is stored within his bones and he can summon the outside parts around him with his thoughts. Plot/effects summary here, wiki/Extremis_(comics). Como siempre, Enjoy.

Chapter 4: Battle in Boston

Thanks to the increased reflexes of the Extremis virus the under layer of the Iron Man suit began wrapped around Tony and in a second the rest of the armor flew out of the briefcase in the corner of the room and formed itself around him. Immediately Stark's head filled with all data and possible scenarios that could affect the situation.

"Have to get Marie out of here, this suit's faster and more agile than Hulk though he could sure crush the hell out of me. Need quick escape, question motives of attack late. Repulsors in my hand could provide a good blinding flash of light, then fly out of here with Marie, and leave such a populous area," thought Tony.

"Marie, cover your eyes and turn around NOW!"

"Wha? Got it," said Marie as she shielded her eyes and turned away from the Hulk and Iron Man.

Tony turned the light protection on his helmet all the way up as he stuck his hands out towards the Hulk, palms out. Before the Hulk could take a step a blinding blue light emitted from the repulsors inside the gloves of the Iron Man suit. Hulk stumbled backwards outside of the giant hole he had created and Iron Man acted quickly by blasting another hole through the front of the apartment and grabbing Marie in his arms as he flew out into the sky. The sky was cloudless and it seemed to be quite sunny for a mid-January day in downtown Boston.

Iron Man put the boosters in his feet up to 160% speed and roared up and towards the North-West. It was only a few seconds after they had taken off that a Bolyston Street could be seen below them and that was when Iron Man felt himself stop despite the fact he was still using his boosters.

"What the!?" he shouted.

Stark heard Marie scream loudly and wondered what she could be looking at to scare her like that when his boosters suddenly lost power and he began plummeting towards the surface. They were only about four stories up so Stark knew that he would be fine but he had to think about Marie. Thinking quickly he turned so he would land on his and held Marie so the impact wouldn't affect her except for a sudden jolt when they crashed. They crashed down onto the sidewalk with a large crack as cement broke beneath the weight of the suit.

"Jeez babe you need to lay off the cookie dough, we shattered the damn sidewalk," said Iron Man.

"What are you doing joking around!? Quick do-" Marie was cut off as Stark sprang up and pushed her to the side.

"Something, yeah I know. Jarvis give me a quick reboot and run diagnostics on boosters."

"Reboot successful, suit working at maximum efficiency, boosters normal and online. Also sir, two incoming contacts from further down the street coming fast," responded Jarvis.

One of the contacts was easily identifiable as the hulk running down the sidewalk towards Stark and the other was flying next to him with what appeared to be a ball of red energy surrounding him. They quickly appeared in front of Stark and when the red energy dissipated the figure landed on the ground next to the Hulk. The face plate of the Iron Man armor retracted and the look of shock on Tony's face was quite apparent.

"Dr. Strange? What the hell is going on? Why are you attacking me and why is he helping you?" Tony demanded.

"Well its quite the long story my friend, best to explain it quickly as I hear your friend Thor is already en route as well as the famous S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier," said the master magician as he put his hands to his temples.

Tony Stark's current surroundings disappeared as his mind was invaded by Strange. With almost incomprehensible speed a series of memories and brief images flooded the Armored Avenger's head. The first few images showed a young girl knocking on the door of a familiar mansion. The scene shifted to a dark room that was eerily lit by arcane symbols inscribed into the floor and walls. In the corner of the room stood Dr. Strange as he watched another man in magician's robes sit on the floor opposite the young girl and place his hands on her head. Blue energy began to flow towards head but then evidently something went wrong as the energy became a red like blood and began to spread through the air. As Strange stepped forward the room was filled with the red light and the scene shifted again. This time the scene was Strange lowering a shrouded body into a volcano with his magic. The scene shifted yet again and this time a slightly older looking Strange had his hands on Bruce Banner's temple and was deep in concentration.

"What was all that Strange? I still need answers damn it!" shouted Stark with fury.

"Don't you get it Stark? I've just shown you the sad story of a frightened little girl who had magic she couldn't control and came got herself to my mansion looking for a "cure" as it were. Well when my great friend and fellow magician Orem sat down to lock he powers deep inside she grew even more frightened. Then she killed him and ran away. For years she harnessed that magic to keep herself hidden from me through running, identity changes, and the same invisibility trick that let her into your private bank. It took me a long time but I have tracked her down so she can reap what she sowed. She may go by something different now but her original name was Marie."

"Impossible! Marie has no powers, she's just a young woman I met, right Marie? Marie?"

Marie was nowhere to be found and the streets around them were deserted because everyone had run for cover when they saw three powerhouses gathered together. However Stark's confusion was broken when Strange held his hand out and Marie materialized in front of Stark and fell down in front of him. This didn't seem to faze Strange as the same outstretched hand was raised to the sky and like a comet a figure crashed down besides Stark and Marie.

"Ugh, what sorcerer dares to challenge me? Strange? Hulk? I demand to know what you do here Man of Iron!" said Thor as he stood up.

"I fight for the woman in front of me. Strange plans to murder her to get revenge for an accident that occurred many years ago. Hulk seems to have been brainwashed by him."

"Your cause sounds noble and you have not attacked me like our former ally here. Consider my hammer dedicated to your side in this battle," said Thor as storm clouds gathered above. The street fell silent as both sides stared at each other. Meanwhile the sound of rumbling thunder could be heard as well as a giant thrumming noise from the sky.

"Director Fury we have a visual on the combatants, displaying on helicarrier deck now," said Maria Hill, Fury's second in command.

"Stay at this position and keep a constant feed of this up, we can't afford to get any closer with that storm gathering there," said Director Fury as he stood on the bridge.

Back on the ground Marie had stood up and was standing to the left of Iron Man. Her hands had a golden aura around them and she was ready to finally stop running for once in her life.

One second the air was heavy with electricity with hate, electricity, and magic. The next second the sun itself seemed to appear in the middle of the street. Thor's lightning, Stark's repulsors tech, Marie's magic, and Strange's magic clashed in the middle of the two groups. At first the raw ball of energy was a bright yellow, then oranges and reds began to appear in it, soon though it changed to a blue that darkened into blackness.

"Stark we must go! Now!" shouted Thor.

Tony immediately grabbed Marie and began flying away from the black ball of energy as Thor began to fly into the sky as well. The Hulk had been at a loss for what to do during this exchange but upon seeing the raw ball of energy he had begun to retreat. However he was close enough that he clearly saw the fate of Dr. Strange. When Strange saw the ball of energy turn black he knew that they had created something terrible and he tried to stop his energy from feeding into it. However he couldn't stop and the Hulk watched as Strange was pulled into the energy and how his flesh turned into bone as he was pulled inside.

When Strange was pulled completely in the Energy ball pulsed neon green, bright blue, blood red, and finally a white so blinding that even Iron Man and Thor were blinded momentarily. From the bridge of the helicarrier Fury watched as a large chunk of the Prudential Center and Bolyston was swallowed by the white energy.

"Report the fatalities Hill. Include Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Dr. Strange in the list. Lower the flags to half mast."

Tony Stark woke up with hot sand in his face. He got up and looked around, letting his eyes adjust to the sun. It took him several seconds to notice the military men and vehicles in front and around him. A man walked up to him and asked, "Are you okay Comrade? We found others nearby the site where the giant white light appeared. What's happened?"

"Where am I?"

"The New Australian Socialist States welcome you Comrade. I must insist in asking if you are alright."

"Alright? Physically yes. There's just one thing. The world just watched me die."


End file.
